While individual runners probably create a fairly minimal impact on their surroundings, when you gather several thousand of together for a race, things change pretty drastically. And so, in a time when even Indy 500 cars are switching to biofuel, many road races, from small regional events to the biggest marathons in the country, are examining their materials and operating procedures and making changes to become more environmentally friendly.

To be sure, some of this is driven by marketing and PR; these days, being "green" is as much an attraction to runners as on-course bands and a post-race party. But much of the concern and resultant change is genuine -- with most race organizers being runners themselves, they tend to have the same pro-environment philosophy as their event's participants.

While "green" is being bandied about with such increasing frequency that its real meaning may become diluted and devalued, running events have begun to quantify their green efforts. In fact, a nonprofit group, the Council for Responsible Sport (ResponsibleSporting.org), has developed a draft set of standards allowing events to be classified as gold, silver or bronze for event certification. CRS certification addresses five categories of sustainability:

Waste

How much packaging is recycled or composted?

Is the quantity of printed items minimized?

Do printed items use recycled paper and/or vegetable-based ink?

Community and Outreach

Can local assets (parks, waterways, trails, bike lanes) be improved through the event?

Are participants encouraged to adhere to a pledge of responsible sport?

Climate

Are alternative-fuel vehicles used?

Have steps been taken to offset (or restore) the carbon footprint?

Is food sourced locally?

Materials and Equipment

Are materials reused, shared, recycled?

Are alternative, environmentally friendly materials given preference?

Health Promotion

Can youth or beginners get involved?

Is there education of health benefits?

The green race movement may have reached a critical mass earlier this year when more than two dozen race directors met in the nation's capital at the Green Events Workshop, held in conjunction with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile race and sponsored by Road Race Management. During the two-day seminar, dozens of ideas were exchanged, and some of the greener events in the country showed just how much can be done to reduce the environmental impact of a major road race.

The ING Hartford Marathon is one of the leaders, and identified as one of the CRS "seedling" events for 2008. Director Beth Shluger has a goal of making her race the first running event to achieve gold status, and former title sponsor United Technologies has become the race's presenting green sponsor. That's more than just an honorific title; one of UTC's first actions was to design and construct a 50-foot-long water fountain bubbler for post-race hydration, saving some 10,000 plastic water bottles from an ultimate destination at the landfill.

"We're tackling about 42 items," Shluger says. She noted that the city of Hartford's recent move to single-stream recycling has made their waste-management job easier, but other aspects of the event will take more time and effort.

The J.P. Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge is another event near the front of the environmental running pack. With a dozen events in six countries on five continents, Corporate Challenge organizers have had to adhere to the often-stricter requirements overseas, and have implemented the changes in all the series races, such as using cups made of bagasse, a biodegradeable corn byproduct, at all water stops.

Even the world's largest marathon (based on finishers), the ING New York City Marathon, has taken steps to reduce what is possibly the running world's biggest environmental footprint. Last year, organizers instituted the first recycling program in the 38-year history of the race. All the plastic containers (about 75,000) from the race's 24 fluid stations were recycled, and a total of 11 tons of plastic, paper and cardboard was recycled along the five-borough route. In another new twist, the race, which faces the logistical challenge of getting 36,000 runners to the start on Staten Island, encouraged use of the famed Staten Island ferry, which uses clean fuel. Nearly a third of the field used this option, and race director and New York Road Runners CEO Mary Wittenberg hopes to increase that figure this year, as well as investigating the use of clean-fuel buses to transport runners by land. "Our sport is the ultimate green activity, which is why it is going to get more popular," she says. "I also think more people are going to use running as a means of transportation, especially in the city, if gas prices continue to climb."

The New York Road Runners has formed a committee to examine all aspects of its operations to maximize environmental responsibility. Still, Wittenberg points out some obstacles that most races, no matter what the size, face. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of things we need to be waterproof, like gear bags, bib numbers and so forth, which reduces their recyclability."

Nonetheless, while the environmental impact of races can't be completely eliminated, it can be greatly reduced. Among some of the actions races are already undertaking:

Decreasing or eliminating printed materials. The T.D. Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, utilized only online registration this year, and many smaller events have a similar policy. With the almost universal move to online posting of results, usually the same day as the race, many events have dropped post-race results mailings.

Encouraging carpooling and use of public transportation. When Cherry Blossom redesigned its course this year, an unforeseen benefit was repositioning the staging area within walking distance of a Washington, D.C., subway stop. To encourage runners to use the subway, the race paid to have the system open two hours earlier than normal; more than 60 percent of them took advantage of it. Some races have set aside VIP parking areas for runners who carpool.

Making goody bags better. Many races have replaced the traditional plastic bag with reusable or recycled alternatives; some have banned paper inserts from the contents.

Reducing internal combustion emissions. Hybrid, electric or gas-powered pace and escort vehicles reduce the amount of exhaust inhaled by the lead runners and put into the atmosphere. The use of solar-powered generators to run electrical equipment cuts down on air and noise pollution.

Greening their home base. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon launched an ambitious program of planting more than 75 trees each year along portions of its course; Hartford is similarly planting a tree for each mile of its race.

Recycling race-specific items. This is an area that many race directors identified as one of the most problematic. Safety pins, Tyvek bib numbers, Mylar space blankets are currently "use and toss" items, and while some events are instituting recycling initiatives for them, long-ingrained runners' habits will have to be rewired to make them effective.

As a follow-up to the Green Events Workshop, Road Race Management has published the Guide to Greener Running Events. The $50 book looks at the potential for green certification, presents a summary of race directors' thoughts and opinions about the environmental impact of their events, and offers a useful green guide to sponsors and vendors. (View the guidebook at rrm.com/rdm/green/greenbook.htm.)